Hello Archer & Olive friends - May Flaum here and you may not know this about me, but I’ve been keeping a journal and scrapbook since I was seven years old. Through the years I’ve tried out different trends and played with techniques and styles - but here in 2024 I’ve come full circle to embrace a type of memory keeping very similar to those early books of my childhood.

Today in this blog post and video, I’m going to share with you some pages I’m working on as I complete my 2023 album (catching up!), some tips for your own projects, and some thoughts on getting started if you’d like!

Supplies

The first thing to know is supplies - this can be as simple as a notebook, pen, and adhesive of your choice. One note here - I’d recommend an archival double sided tape or other long term, permanent adhesive. Using some options can lead to things falling off in a few years, yellowing, or otherwise damaging your journal. Want to plus up supplies? Ephemera, stickers, and washi tape are all great choices!

Project Scope and Focus

The next thing to consider is your time, project scope, and vision. In this specific book I want to tell the story of 2023. It won’t tell every single moment but we’ll hit on high school graduation, favorite pet moments, some random details I want remembered, trips taken, concerts seen… and my big shoulder surgery!

Considering what you’d like from your memory keeping there is no one answer, no wrong answer either. I’ve got a PDF file you can download and work through that here!

Get Started

Now the really hard part - page 1! There are a few approaches I like to take. In this instance I decided to just begin with a photo of me and my beloved dog Bandit on our favorite chair, and just play a bit with some A&O washi tape and stamps. No real big story, no pressure. The hardest part really is getting started. Depending on your goals and what you’d like from your memory keeping project you may or may not need to plan further here.

In my case, I calculated how many photos/pages and stories I had to tell. I then removed a page (using craft knife) here and there to create more space for photos without exploding the size of my notebook. And again - no wrong answers here but I sorted out what photos/stories would go on each page start to end as I’m working on a finished year. I found that doing so helped me see where I was going with this first book. If your book is still unwritten, if you’re working more in the moment you may want to put sticky notes or markers if you’re trying to fit a whole section of time in. Or, you may just fill book by book, volumes of stories.

I intend to continue my chronological documenting but I also want to make books about my pets present and past, about childhood stories, specific vacations… the list is endless! I know I’ve said how there is no wrong way to work here and I can’t mean it more. Perhaps you simply want to incorporate more photos into another journal project. Maybe you want to start very small? I’m here to cheer you on!

The more I work on this, the more I love it! I’ve been utilizing 8x8 plain paper A&O notebooks, however this works in any size or style! Dot grid could be great if you’re wanting built-in journaling support or ability to more perfectly align things.

Want to follow along more of my creating process? I’ve got a video for that!

I am really enjoying this process, and how freeing it is to be making purely for my own joy - telling whichever stories I like with as many (or as few!) images as I like. This is just the beginning for me, as I am going to this format for all memory keeping now. It is so streamlined, simple, and so friendly to my hectic schedule! Depending on my mood and energy I can sit down and sort photos, play with pretty tapes and stickers, or even make a whole book in a day!

Do you incorporate memory keeping in your notebooks and journaling habits? Do tell! Leave a comment here, or message me on social media I’d love to hear what you have to say. If you post inspired by this blog post please tag myself @craftwithmay on social media and also tag @archerandolive, @archerandolive.community as well as using hashtags #AOShare and #archerandolive.